Gardener’s almanac (Sept. 13)
Early fall? — The weather cooled down ahead of my friend Greg’s prediction of midmonth and ahead of the long-range forecast dated Aug. 28 (it pegged the cooldown for today), so perhaps we are heading for an early fall. I saw my first outdoor mouse, and the Beacon stopped serving its seasonal Nantucket chicken salad, so it’s getting serious.
Plant – Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips.
Plant a Row for the Hungry – If you have fruit or vegetables from your garden at their peak that you would like to give to the needy, you can take the produce to these locations during business hours:
Kansas Food Bank, 1919 E. Douglas; Augusta Ace Home Center, 316 W. Seventh, Augusta; Brady Nursery, 11200 W. Kellogg; Hillside Nursery, 2200 S. Hillside; Hillside Feed and Seed, 1805 S. Hillside; Johnson’s Garden Centers, 802 N. Ridge Road, 21st and Woodlawn, 2707 W. 13th St.; and Valley Feed & Seed, 1903 S. Meridian.
Stories of summer — As the weather starts to turn cool, here are a couple of stories of summer successes I’ve received recently:
▪ Butternut squash taking over: A butternut squash came up in one of Diane and Tom Gossen’s compost bins and has taken over the vegetable garden. “This plant spans all five of our large compost bins, trails down the side, crosses over the path into our asparagus bed and continues to vine throughout that bed and down into the next aisle,” the Gossens wrote in an email. “There is a large boxwood at the end of our compost bins, and the plant produced so many squash on top of the boxwood that we had to lay boards on top to support the fruits.
“We had stopped planting squash due to frustrations with squash bugs and vine borers and have just purchased them at the farmer's market for the last few years. We always have some volunteer squash come up in the compost, but this is the first year it has survived ... After the last several summers’ heat and drought, this summer has made gardening worthwhile again.”
▪ Best okra: Bobby Oates says he’s had “a great crop of okra this year, and it is still growing. It is 6 feet tall. It is the tallest okra I have ever had.” It’ll get even better in the cool weather, he says.
Warm-season grass care — In addition to it being too late to fertilize warm-season grasses Bermuda, zoysia and buffalo, it’s also time to cut back on watering them, extension agent Rebecca McMahon says.
Fertilize fescue — If you’re going to fertilize fescue only once a year, September is the time to do it. If you fertilize more than once a year, September should be one of those times. November is the second most important. Put down 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn.
Overseed fescue — Now through Oct. 15 is the time to seed fescue, whether you’re putting in a new lawn or overseeding thin areas. The earlier you do it before Oct. 15, the better, since it’s hard to know what the weather will do. You can also put sod down instead for an instant lawn, and that can be done later into the fall than seeding.
Garden events
Geraniums & Greyhounds – That’s the theme of the next Tuesdays on the Terrace at Botanica. Elliot Road will provide the music, and food and drinks will be for sale. Hours are 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; gardens are open until 8. Cover is $7, or $3 for members.
Birding at Botanica — The monthly bird walk at Botanica will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday. It’s included in Botanica admission.
Fall flower-arranging talk – Master gardener Jodi Gieser will be at Botanica on Wednesday to give a lunchtime lecture on selecting and preparing flowers from the garden for fall arrangements. Gieser worked in the floral industry for many years. The lecture, which is at 12:15, is included in Botanica admission.
Project Beauty Membership Tea and Fashion Show — Project Beauty will have its annual Membership Tea and Fashion Show on Thursday at Botanica. It will be at 12:30 p.m. Ann’s Fashions will present a fall style show. Guests are welcome to attend and learn about Project Beauty, and no reservation is necessary for the free event.
African violet meeting — The Wichita African Violet Society will meet Friday at Botanica. Patty Daniels will present a program on getting back to basics. The meeting is at 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Plant sale — The Derby Garden Club will have a plant sale of perennials and other plants from members’ gardens on Sept. 20. The sale will be from 8 a.m. to noon at Triangle Park, at the corner of Kay and Derby streets. Proceeds will go to Derby community projects.
Italian Saturday Sampler — “Italy Beyond Tomatoes and Basil” is the theme of the last Saturday Sampler of the season at the Extension Center. It will be at 9 a.m. Sept. 20 in the Demonstration Garden at 21st and Ridge Road. Extension agents will give gardening and cooking tips, and there will be food samples. It’s free.
This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Gardener’s almanac (Sept. 13)."